


Our love is like poetry

by scalira



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Asexual Characters, F/M, met online au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-26
Updated: 2016-03-26
Packaged: 2018-05-29 06:46:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6363643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scalira/pseuds/scalira
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kira runs a photography blog, but her most popular post ends up being an angry rant about the constant erasure of pan- and asexuality. The subject even finds its way to Vernon Boyd, a relatively known slam poet with 100,000 subscribers on Youtube. When he messages her asking if he can use her post to write his next slam poem, they find out they have more in common than just their sexuality.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Our love is like poetry

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Kira rarepair week day 3: favorite LGBT+/MOGAI ship

Kira doesn’t take pride in a lot of things. She’s humble about most things in her life: her looks, her scholarship for the New York Art Academy, her writing. 

But if there’s one thing she’s proud of, it’s her photography blog. She spends a lot of time perfecting it, adding pictures she took every day. She goes out on the streets of New York every afternoon, looking for things that catch her eye. Sometimes it’s a building, other times it’s a colorful leaf she found on the pavement.

She posts pictures of herself too; of her face and her outfits and sometimes, when she’s feeling really confident, a few pictures in her underwear may find their way her blog.

She doesn’t have a lot of followers and her biggest post only got a bit over 2000 notes, but she doesn’t do it for the attention, not really.

As part of the LGBTQA+ community, she also feels obligated to blog about problems concerning her people. That’s how she finds herself furiously flying her fingers over her keyboard at 1am on a Sunday night, talking about the constant erasure of both pansexuality and asexuality, two terms she identifies as.

She honestly doesn’t expect people to pay attention to her late night rant when she turns off her computer and gets in bed, but when she logs onto Tumblr the next day, her activity is still blowing up.

People are agreeing with her, angrily ranting in the tags or adding to her post with their own experiences. In only a few days, it gets over 70k notes.

Kira thinks that’s it, her post steadily gaining popularity on the Tumblr platform, but when she scrolls down a few messages disagreeing with her post and calling her stupid -  _those damn Hetero Henrys_ , she mutters under her breath - she finds a very kind and very polite message from a blog called s _lammedboyd._

> _Hi there!_  
>  I’m really sorry for bothering you, but I saw your post about the erasure of pan- and asexuality and I agree with everything you said about it. It actually quite inspired me, and I was wondering if I could use your post to base my next slam poem on? I promise I’ll credit you!  
> Have a nice day,  
> Boyd

Kira replies that he can of course use her post for his slam poem and then clicks on the blog to check him out. On it, she finds out about Boyd’s youtube channel, where he regularly posts slam poems. He has over 100,000 subscribers, which seems infinite to Kira. She watches a few - about racism in the movie industry, police brutality and cultural appropriation - and she finds herself falling in love with his words fast and hard. He has a way of saying things, of forming sentences and choosing his words that really sticks with her.

She spends the entire day watching all the poems he uploaded, careful not to like too many to make sure he doesn’t think she’s stalking him. She scrolls down his blog too, reblogging his poetry and praising it in the tags, hoping he’ll read them.

By the end of the day, when her eyes are growing tired and she’s onto Boyd’s first ever uploaded poem, she receives a message in the the Tumblr messaging system.

> **slammedboyd:**  
>  Hey! Saw your tags on some of my poetry, really appreciate it. Thanks for the kind words!

Kire replies embarrassingly fast, feeling the nervous fluttering in her chest she usually gets when someone messages her out of the blue.

> **foxykira:**  
>  No problem! You’re really talented. I watched some of your slam poems on Youtube too. I loved them all, but my favorite has to be the one about racism in the movie industry.

She stares at the conversation tab until he replies, her heart beating in her throat. She always feels anxious talking to new people, especially when they haven’t found common ground to talk about. She always thinks they find her boring or annoying and normally doesn’t get further than a good intented ‘how are you?’ ‘good, what about you?’ ‘I’m good too!’ conversation.

> **slammedboyd:**  
>  :)  
> You’re a photographer, right?
> 
> **foxykira:**  
>  Yeah! Well, not a professional one. Just for fun.
> 
> **slammedboyd:**  
>  Really? Your pictures look so professional though! Are you planning on doing anything with it?

Kira smiles at her screen, her anxiety fading and being replaced by a giddy feeling.

She types out a longer message, about taking a Photography major at the NY Art Academy and having always loved photography. She enjoys seeing the world through her lens; it turns it more beautiful somehow. She sends a message after that one, apologizing for her rant and that she’s rambling.

> **slammedboyd:**  
>  Noooo don’t worry about it! I love talking to other artists about the things they’re passionate about. Do you do anything else besides photography?
> 
> **slammedboyd:**  
>  Not that photography isn’t enough! Oh god, I totally just offended you.

Kira giggles, let’s her fingers dance over her keyboard to reply.

> **foxykira:**  
>  You didn’t! I also draw sometimes, but I’m not really good at it. I also write when I’m feeling it.
> 
> **slammedboyd:**  
>  Wow, photography, drawing AND writing? A threeway miracle!
> 
> **foxykira:**  
>  Haha trust me, I’m not. I love them all but my true passion is still photography.

He asks her about her favorite things to take pictures of and Kira isn’t arrogant enough to say ‘myself’ (by which she really means the human body, but she’s never actually photographed another human being like she’s photographed herself) so she says ‘architecture’ instead. She tells him she lives in New York and there are a lot of nice buildings to photograph here, especially during the winter.

They easily slip into another subject then, about how he’s never seen snow because he lives somewhere in California where it hasn’t snowed in twenty years. Kira tells him about the pleasures of having a snow fight and even boldly sends him the link to one of the pictures she posted last year, of an epic and totally spontaneous snowfight on Times Square. He immediatly reblogs it and then Kira gets a notification that he followed her.

> **slammedboyd:**  
>  This is totally embarrassing I can’t believe we’ve been talking for an hour and I hadn’t followed you yet.

Kira quickly follows him back before replying.

> **foxykira:**  
>  Don’t beat yourself up about it. I only just now followed you back.
> 
> **slammedboyd:**  
>  I guess we both haven’t quite mastered the Tumblr Etiquette yet :)
> 
> **slammedboyd:**  
>  Okay I have a confession to make.
> 
> **slammedboyd:**  
>  I’m actually really bad at talking to people on the internet, you’re like the first person I started a conversation with on here so I really don’t know what to do.
> 
> **foxykira:**  
>  How about you ask me about my favorite book/movie/song and we go from there?
> 
> **slammedboyd:**  
>  Sounds like a plan.

They talk about the most random things, but it’s a pretty efficient way to get to know him a little. She finds out he’s majoring in English Literature in California, his roommate is an absolute pain in the ass, he has a little sister and he used to work on the ice rink, which comes close to having seen snow but isn’t exactly the same.

> **slammedboyd:**  
>  Hey, isn’t it like 4am in New York now? Why are we still chatting?
> 
> **foxykira:**  
>  Oh shit!!! I totally lost track of time!
> 
> **slammedboyd:**  
>  Yeah go to bed dude you’re gonna be a wreck tomorrow if you don’t
> 
> **foxykira:**  
>  I have a morning class as well tomorrow :///
> 
> **foxykira:**  
>  Well, today
> 
> **foxykira:**  
>  I’m going to die
> 
> **slammedboyd:**  
>  Probably. Try to catch some rest anyway though
> 
> **foxykira:**  
>  It’s your fault you’re too nice to talk to
> 
> **slammedboyd:**  
>  Ha, good one! Now go to bed before I kick your ass
> 
> **foxykira:**  
>  Okay, okay! Talk to you tomorrow?
> 
> **slammedboyd:**  
>  Definitely!

Kira smiles at her screen and logs off after checking her activity one last time. Boyd has been reblogging more of her pictures. She resists the urge to read his tags because she knows he’s a very strict tagger and doesn’t usually add a lot of comments in them. Then she shuts down her laptop and gets into bed.

* * *

When she checks Tumblr in class the next morning, she has five messages from Boyd waiting for her.

He starts by saying he couldn’t sleep last night and wrote a rough first draft of his slam poem based on Kira’s post. He asks if he can send it to her to get her opinion, but the message is immediately followed by a second one saying he forgot she was asleep and he’s gonna send it anyway. The three other messages are his slam poem, and Kira reads it intently before replying.

> **foxykira:**  
>  Omg that’s so good! You wrote that at night? When I write at night I get stories about the search for a perfectly baked cake!

His reply comes in less than a minute.

> **slammedboyd:**  
>  A) perfectly baked cake is a very important part of modern society, and b) why are you online, aren’t you supposed to be in class? Are you skipping?
> 
> **foxykira:**  
>  No I’m not skipping, I just happen to have my laptop out and the lecture just happens to be boring
> 
> **slammedboyd:**  
>  What class are you in?
> 
> **foxykira:**  
>  Art History. Something about religious aspects in art during the Renaissance.
> 
> **slammedboyd:**  
>  Yaaaawn
> 
> **foxykira:**  
>  I know.

* * *

She talks to Boyd every day after that, and she even finds herself longing for the symbol in the right corner of her screen showing she got a message. It isn’t long until they exchange numbers and text when they don’t chat on Tumblr, mostly sending each other funny pictures and memes. They also add each other on snapchat and even though Kira never was a fan of the app, she starts using it a lot more now that Boyd sends her the most random selfies.

Objectively, Boyd is very pleasing to look at. His face is almost perfectly symmetrical and his body is toned and strong (he sent her a full body image of him standing at the Eiffel Tower with his thumbs up and a dorky grin on his face).

The picture leads to a conversation about traveling and inevitably, Boyd casually mentions that he’s always wanted to see New York.

Kira suddenly panics. It’s one thing to talk to someone online, but it’s another thing to see them in real life. For all she knows, Boyd could be catfishing her. He could be an old man, a predator. Who knows, maybe the Boyd who owns that Youtube channel doesn’t even  _have_  a Tumblr. Maybe the dude behind the Tumblr blog stole his private pictures and used them to catfish interested girls, to lure them to him and do unspeakable things to them.

Kira knows this is paranoid, even for her, but now that the thought is out there she can’t stop thinking about it.

It’s very easy to fake everything. A catfish could easily hack someone’s phone and save all their pictures, using selfies from their selfie folder to send on snapchat so it seems that they’re a real person.

Needless to say, Boyd senses something’s wrong.

> **_Boyd (11:42am):_ ** _hey, did I say something wrong?_
> 
> **_Kira (11:44am):_ ** _no why?_
> 
> **_Boyd (11:45am):_ ** _idk you seem distant?_
> 
> **_Kira (11:45am):_ ** _really?_
> 
> **_Kira (11:47am):_ ** _okay tbh I know this sounds paranoid but i don’t know for sure you’re not a catfish_
> 
> **_Boyd (11:48am):_ ** _what???_
> 
> **_Boyd (11:48am):_ ** _Kira have you been binge watching Catfish again_
> 
> **_Kira (11:52am):_ ** _no!!! Okay maybe. But either way, you could’ve easily stolen all the pictures you sent me. You could be a thirty year old white dude living in his parents’ basement and eating Mac ‘n Cheese everyday_
> 
> **_Boyd (11:54am):_ ** _I’ll pretend I’m not offended about you calling me a white dude_
> 
> **_Boyd (11:54am):_ ** _all jokes aside though, i don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable about talking to me_
> 
> **_Boyd (11:55am):_ ** _we can easily solve this_
> 
> **_Kira (11:55am):_ ** _how?_
> 
> **_Boyd (11:56am):_ ** _we could Skype. If you want_
> 
> **_Kira (12:01pm):_ ** _yeah. Yeah I’d like that a lot_
> 
> **_Boyd (12:02pm):_ ** _okay. Are you free to do it now?_
> 
> **_Kira (12:03pm):_ ** _yes, hold up I’ll take my laptop_

Kira’s heart hammers in her chest as she clicks open Skype and texts Boyd her username. She’s still not fully convinced the person posting slam poems on Youtube will be sitting at the other side of the line and she waits impatiently for him to invite her for a video chat.

When he finally does, she accepts too fast for her to change her mind about it.

Kira lets out a relieved sigh when she recognizes the boy on her screen from the youtube videos. He looks just as nervous as she feels and for a few seconds, neither of them say anything.

But then Boyd smiles sheepishly and waves.

“Hi,” he says. The connection isn’t the best and his voice comes through a bit weirdly, but Kira is too relieved to care.

“Hi,” she replies, mimicking his sheepish smile.

“I’m sorry,” Boyd apologizes, shyly looking down and then up again.

“I’m just a bit overwhelmed.”

“Why?”

“You’re just - uh…  _really_ pretty. Wow.”

Kira can’t stop the giggle from escaping her lips and clears her throat to hide it.

“Well thank you. You’re not too hard on the eye yourself.”

“And the best part about it is that none of it is fake,” Boyd grins.

“I’m sorry,” Kira whines, running a finger through her hair. Boyd follows the gesture with big eyes.

“I just get really paranoid when it comes to stuff like that.”

“Hey, it’s fine. Better to be safe than sorry. Anyway, now we’re talking, I was wondering if you’d listen to my slam poem? I think I finished it.”

“Yeah, of course! Shoot!”

“Okay. Uh. It’s called ‘to be black and to be asexual’.”

Kira listens to his slam poem, lets him smother her with his beautiful words once again. His voice is like a drug; she can’t get enough of it. The words give her goosebumps, touch her deeply. It’s everything she wanted to say with the post and more.

He finishes with the most adorable smile she’s ever seen and says: “That’s it. What do you think?”

“I  _love_  it.”

“Really? Or are you just saying that because you don’t want to hurt my feelings?”

“No, I  _really_ love it. It’s like you took my words and turned them beautiful.”

Boyd chuckles, shyly looks away.

“Thank you. That actually means a lot.”

“When are you posting it on your channel?”

“Tonight maybe? You think I should?”

“I think you should post it as soon as possible!”

“Okay, I’ll get on it right away. But first, how was your day?”

* * *

Kira is walking home from class a few weeks later when her phone rings. She almost slips on some ice and falls into a bank of snow on the side of the road, but she can grab onto a mailbox right in time. Seriously, snow might be fun to take pictures of, but it isn’t really her favorite thing to walk through.

“Hello?” She answers.

“Good afernoon, m’lady,” Boyd formally greets her. Kira immediately breaks into a giant grin.

“Hi, Boyd. What’s up?”

“Guess who’s in the finale of the National Poetry Slams.”

“No way! Really?”

“Yeah, with my slam poem on asexuality.”

“Boyd, congratulations! We should celebrate this. I vote movie night and Skype tonight.”

“Actually, I have a better idea.”

“Oh?”

“Guess where they’re holding the finale this year.”

Kira thinks for a few seconds, then gasps loudly.

“New York?” She whispers hopefully.

“Yeah, baby!” Boyd cheers, and she can  _hear_ the grin in his voice.

“Oh my god, Boyd! When?”

“In two weeks.”

“Are you saying we’ll finally meet in two weeks?”

“Well, I’m personally more excited to see the snow but if you wanna meet up we can do that too, I guess.”

“Vernon!”

Boyd laughs loudly and it makes Kira giggle too. People turn around on the streets to look at her because it isn’t really the weather to be happy about, but Kira only starts smiling wider.

“I’m already counting down the days,” she says teasingly once he stops laughing. She says it jokingly, but her stomach is filled with butterflies just thinking about how close they finally are to seeing each other in real life.

“Only fourteen days to go,” Boyd agrees.

“See you then.”

* * *

Fourteen days quickly turn into eleven, and then nine and then five. Kira gets more anxious every passing day, constantly thinking about what to wear and what to do and how to act. Does she hug him, give him a kiss, shake his hand? What if they just don’t click in real life, what if their connection is purely linked to the internet? What if it’s awkward between them and he thinks she’s boring and regrets coming here in the first place? He’ll be stuck with her for at least three days, since the finale is Saturday and he’ll be arriving on Friday and leaving on Sunday. She even insisted on letting him crash in her apartment so he wouldn’t have to pay for a hotel, so if he doesn’t like her he’ll be stuck with her either way.

As five days turn into three, Kira starts apologizing in advance. She texts Boyd out of the blue, saying she’ll probably be shy and awkward and that he shouldn’t pay too much attention to her. Boyd immediately calls her, telling her to stop stressing so much. Everything is gonna be just fine and they’re gonna have a great time.

“Honestly, take me to a nice restaurant with good food and I’ll be happy for the whole weekend.”

That doesn’t really comfort Kira, and when the waiting is finally over and Boyd texts her that he just got on a plane in California on Friday morning, Kira contemplates faking being sick and calling the whole thing off.

But then he sends her a selfie, one of him with a thumbs up in the plane, and her heart melts. She  _really_  wants to see that face in real life. She send him a selfie back, one of her staring at her watch, and jumps into the shower after that.

It’s a five hour flight from California to New York, which means she has about four hours to get ready and one hour to get to the airport. She takes her time doing her hair, curling it just casually enough for Boyd to think it’s natural and draping it over one shoulder. She decides to play it safe and just wear black skinny jeans and a white knitted sweater. Against all her nerves yelling her to be smart and wear flats, she decides to put on high-heeled ankle boots too. Boyd told her he was very tall and she wants to compensate at least a bit.

She thinks about doing her make-up, but eventually settles for some mascara and her favorite pink lipgloss, turning her lips into kissable, shiny glaced donuts.

Kira spends the rest of the time trying to distract herself from the approaching meeting, but she can’t concentrate long enough to read a book and everything on TV just makes her feel more nervous.

Finally it’s time to go to the airport and she whistles at a taxi once outside. Traffic is relatively calm today, which means she’s at the airport early. 

After the slowest hour of her entire life has crept by, they finally announce that Boyd’s flight has landed. Kira hurries to the terminal and pulls out the sign she made for him.

It’s actually just a piece of paper with the word ‘dork’ written on it, but she still holds it up with a grin for Boyd to see.

She recognizes him immediiately. He’s a full 6′2, carrying a bag over his shoulder and looking extremely cuddly with his beanie pulled over his ears and a thick scarf wrapped around his neck.

His eyes dart over the crowd and light up when they land on Kira. When he spots the sign, he smiles widely.

He walks over to her with certain steps and in the few seconds it takes him to cross the terminal to reach her, Kira feels unsure about their relationship again. They never explicitly established that they were dating, but ever since she started talking to Boyd she stopped seeing other people out of romantic interest completely.

“Oh my god, you’re tiny!” Boyd exclaims once he reached her. Kira has to crane her neck to look at him, only proving his previous statement.

“Told you,” she smiles.

“Can I - uh, give you a hug?” He asks, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. Kira opens her arms for him.

“Duh!”

Boyd chuckles and moves forward to wrap his arms around Kira’s waist. He has to bend down a little to reach her and pulls her off her feet to hug her properly.

“I’m so happy this is finally happening,” Kira says as she wraps her arms around his neck.

“Me too.” Boyd puts her down, still smiling, and then lets his hand slide from her side to her hand. He intertwines their fingers carefully, as if he’s afraid to break one of her fingers if he’s too harsh with her.

“Is this okay?” He asks, nodding to their hands.

“It’s perfect. Come on, let’s get out of here. How was your flight?”

* * *

Kira expects Boyd to be tired from the five hour flight, but he can’t wait to explore New York city. They stop at Kra’s apartment to drop off his bag and then immediately hit the streets again. Bod is like a little kid when he sees all the fresh, white show (the snow at the airport had been more of a gray, nasty mush) and they have a snowball fight right then and there. Kira has a lot more experience with them and wins with her eyes closed, but she buys him a hot chocolate to make up for his loss.

They take a walk through Central Park and since it’s too cold to hold hands, Kira settles with locking their arms like an old married couple. They spend the entire day outside, just walking and talking and drinking hot beverages so they don’t freeze. Kira takes her camera out a few times, but she mostly just enjoys her day with Boyd.

When it’s getting dark out, Kira suggests dropping by the local pizza place and taking a pizza to her apartment to eat it there. Boyd thinks that’s a great idea.

“Are you nervous for tomorrow?” Kira asks that evening, taking another slice of pizza and sitting back on the couch.

Boyd shrugs, thoughtfully chews before replying.

“Not really. I’m pretty confident about my poem, it’ll be fine.”

“But what if you, like, stutter or something? Or forget your lines?”

Boyd raises an eyebrow at her.

“Are you trying to jinx it?”

“No! God no, no you’re gonna do just  _fine_! Break a leg and stuff like that.”

Boyd shakes his head and snickers.

“Much better,” he says.

They finish the pizza and share a carton of chocolate ice cream for dessert. Kira puts in a dvd and swings her legs over Boyd’s lap, who puts his hand on her shin and starts rubbing it.

“I’m really glad I’m here,” he says softly.

Kira looks at him and smiles sweetly.

“Me too.”

She must’ve drifted to sleep after that, because the next thing she’s aware of is Boyd gently shaking her awake.

“Kira,” he whispers.

Kira reaches out to his face to push him away and Boyd laughs, grabbing her wrist and holding it down.

“Come on, little lady,” he says, shaking her shoulder again.

“Leave me alone,” Kira moans.

“Kira, I have to sleep on the couch. I can’t do that when you’re sleeping on it.”

“Just take my bed,” Kira mumbles, pushing him away again. She really is too tired to care.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, Boyd. Now,” she yawns, “now let me sleep.”

“Okay, okay. Goodnight.”

“G’night.”

She feels him press his lips to her forehead but she’s already too far gone to react to it.

* * *

“Uh, Kira?” Are the first words she hears the next morning.

“Mhh?” She mumbles, struggling to open her eyes.

“What are you doing?”

“Sleeping.”

“I can see that. But, uh - I thought you were gonna sleep on the couch?”

“Wh…” Kira finally opens her eyes and realizes where she is. She’s clinging onto Boyd’s back, her arms wrapped around his torso and her chest pressed against his back. They’re both in Kira’s queen size bed, which is definitely  _not_  where she fell asleep last night.

She’s immediately wide awake, letting go off Boyd’s body and moving back to give him some space.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry! I must’ve sleep walked back into my bed! I didn’t even know I was a sleepwalker before this, but I guess that’s because I never had anyone to tell me. Anyway, I’m really sorry about that and I promise it won’t happen again.”

“Kira, it’s fine! It was actually… quite nice,” Boyd admits.

“Really?”

“Yeah. I mean, I’ve never been the small spoon before. It was a nice change.”

Kira giggles.

“And I’ve never been the big spoon.”

Boyd smiles and he looks very sleepy and cuddly and Kira just wants to snuggle up to him and stay like that the whole day. She looks at her alarm clock and realizes it’s only seven, which means they still have a full four hours before they have to register for the finale.

“Do you, uh, wanna stay in bed and cuddle a bit longer?” She asks shyly.

Boyd’s smile turns into a grin as he pulls her closer.

“Definitely.”

Kira smiles into the crook of his neck and wraps her arm around his chest, resting her head on his shoulder. Boyd’s arm creeps around her waist to keep her close.

“I like this,” he says, his voice resonating against Kira’s ear.

“Me too.”

* * *

Boyd wins the finale by a long shot and insists on sharing the five hundred dollar prize. He takes her out for dinner after they dropped by Kira’s apartment to shower and change into something to match the fancy restaurant they’re going to. Boyd is speechless when he sees Kira in a tight fitting little black dress, which makes Kira blush.

They hold hands on their walk to the restaurant and when they sit down, Boyd reaches over the table to take her hand again. He only lets go of it when their food arrives and immediately grabs it again when they pay the bill and walk out. On the way back to Kira’s apartment, he offers her his jacket to wear. It’s way too big and Kira feels like drowning in the fabric, but the weight of the leather and Boyd’s scent make her feel all giddy and warm inside.

It’s like a silent agreement between them that they’ll share Kira’s bed again tonight. Boyd slips in first while Kira undresses and puts her hair into a pony tail to sleep, and he pulls back the covers for her when she crawls in next to him.

“I can’t believe you’re already leaving tomorrow,” Kira sighs once she’s locked into his arms. She traces the pattern of his shirt with her fingers.

“I know,” Boyd replies. He sounds about as happy about it as she feels.

“We can still Skype though. And call, and text. Maybe I’ll even write you a love letter.”

“It won’t be the same now that we’ve met though.”

“We can visit each other.”

Kira sits up, frowns at him.

“We’re both broke.”

“We both have 250 dollars from the finale. We can spend it on plane tickets.”

Kira looks away and chews her lip.

“Maybe I should give you those 250 dollars back. Then you can visit me more often.”

“Hey, no way. I wouldn’t have won if it weren’t for your post. it wouldn’t be fair to get all the credit for it.”

He hooks his finger around her chin, gently tilts her head so that she’s lookng at him.

“Please don’t be sad, Kira. We still have tomorrow.”

“I know. I just -” Kira takes a shaky breath, feels tears sting in her eyes, “I’m just gonna - m-miss you.” Her voice breaks and Boyd pulls her into a hug, pressing her face into the crook of his neck and rubbing her back.

“Don’t cry, please. Let’s not be sad our last night together, okay?” He pulls back to look at her. “Come on, let me see a smile.”

Kira pulls her lips up, but it feels more like a grimace than anything else.

Boyd makes a face at her.

“Yikes.” It’s so unlike him to say it and he says it so seriously, Kira starts giggling despite herself.

“There she is!” Boyd cheers, lifting her up into his arms until she’s straddling his hips. His hands lie comforting and steady on her sides, his thumbs drawing circles into her skin.

It’s the first time in two days Kira has to look down to look into Boyd’s eyes.

They sit like that for a while, just looking at each other as if they’re trying to remember every single detail about each other. Boyd’s hands move from her sides to her back, spreading his fingers over the fabric of her shirt.

Eventually, he’s the first one to break the silence.

“I can’t get over how beautifu you are.”

“Shut up.”

“No, I’m serious. You’re stunning.”

Kira was never good with compliments, and now isn’t any different. Her cheeks start burning up and she looks away from his sincere eyes.

Boyd’s hand moves from her waist to her face and he gently strokes her cheek until she looks at him again. He’s chewing his lip.

“Would it - would it be okay if I kissed you?”

Kira breaks out in a full on smile.

“Thought you’d never ask.”

Boyd tilts his head and Kira leans down so he can reach better. Their lips meet halfway.

It may be the sweetest kiss Kira has ever shared with anyone. It doesn’t last very long and her hand snakes up Boyd’s neck to pull him back in. He chuckles against her mouth and deepens the kiss, prying open her lips with his own to slip in his tongue.

Everything about it is soft, slow. Boyd takes his time exploring her mouth, and Kira lets him. He’s a very good kisser, just like she expected.

She feels better kissing Boyd than she’s ever felt kissing anyone else. With others, there was always the fear they wanted to take it further, that they would turn the kiss dirty and that their hands would become grabby. But Boyd’s one hand remains on her waist and the other is still on her cheek. She doesn’t have to be scared he’ll take it further than she wants to.

Kissing him is beautiful. 

“Oh god, I’m definitely gonna miss  _that_ ,” Boyd says after they part for air, sounding a bit breathless.

Kira laughs, presses her forehead against his. 

“Me too,” she whispers.

* * *

The next day gets by in a haze. Kira insists on spending it taking pictures of each other - for the memories! - and even though Boyd is camera shy, he steps out of his comfort zone to make her happy.

The first few attempts to photograph him are a bit awkward because Boyd doesn’t know how to act or what to do, but after a while he gets the hang of it. They take lots of pictures of themselves and most of them involve kissing or hugging or both.

“Take off your shirt,” Kira says when the sun starts to set and they only have an hour and a half left before Boyd has to leave for the airport.

“Damn, I thought those words would never be spoken in this relationship.”

Kira rolls her eyes at him.

“You know that’s not what I mean. Come on, do it for the aesthetic.”

Boyd sighs and pulls off his shirt.

“Now, get into bed.”

“Do I need to remind you that we don’t really  _do_  sex?”

“Boyd!”

“I’m kidding!” Boyd grins, wrapping his arms around her waist and pecking her on the lips. Then he follows her order, crawling into bed and pulling the sheets over his body.

Kira gets in with him, ordering him to roll over onto his stomach. Then she pulls the sheets back to his waist so that his toned back is exposed to the golden sunlight streaming through her window.

Kira snaps a few shots of him and is very pleased with the results.

“Can I put these on my blog?” She asks after showing them to him.

“Of course you can. I look hot.”

Kira giggles, then asks him if he can take off his pants too. Boyd has to physically bite his lip in order to keep back a comment about being asexual and wiggles out of them. Kira follows his example.

She takes pictures of their bare legs tangled together in bed, the white of the sheets and the gold of the sunlight blending beautifully with both their skin tones.

“Those are really good,” Boyd remarks as Kira shows them to him.

“I like them too. Hey, remember when you asked me what my favorite things to photograph were?”

“Yeah?”

“The truth is architecture  _isn’t_  my favorite thing to take pictures of. It’s the human body.”

“Why didn’t you just say so?”

“Because, before you, I’d never photographed another body besides mine. I wasn’t sure if I enjoyed photographing the human body, or just  _my_ body.”

“And?”

Kira grins smugly. “I  _definitely_  enjoy photographing your body.”

Boyd mimics her grin and kisses her again, more roughly than before but still somehow soft. When Kira pulls back, she sees her alarm clock out of the corner of her eye and jumps out of bed.

“Oh no, we’re gonna be late! Come on, get dressed or you’re gonna miss your flight!”

* * *

They end up having to sprint through the airport, Boyd basically dragging Kira with him since his legs are a lot longer and he can take bigger steps than her.

When they arrive at his gate, Boyd stops and turns around to face her.

“We have to hurry,” he says remorsefully.

“I know,” Kira sighs.

“I really don’t want to say goodbye.”

“Me neither,” Boyd whispers, pulling her closer to him. Kira can’t reach his lips, not even when she’s standing on the tips of her toes, and Boyd boops her nose with his own.

“Call me as soon as you land, okay?”

“I will. When are you visiting me in California?”

“Over spring break at the soonest,” she pouts.

“I’ll have to get a job to pay for the plane ticket, but I’ll find a way to visit.”

“I’m already counting down the days.”

“Only sixty more to go,” Kira mutters gloomy.

“Hey, come on. Chin up. We’ve done it once before, we can do it again.”

“Yeah, you’re right. It’s just gonna be a long sixty days.”

“Long enough to save enough money to visit more often.”

Kira makes a face at him.

“Wy are you so positive all the time?” She complains.

Boyd smiles sadly.

“One of us has to be.”

Kira wants to reply, but they’re interrupted by a voice saying people can start boarding for the flight to California Boyd is on.

“I have to go,” he says.

Kira nods, grabs his arms to pull herself up to reach his face. Boyd kisses her again and this time it’s more urgent, more desperate. She won’t feel these lips for a long time.

“I love you.” It’s said in a whisper, so soft Kira almost doesn’t catch it. Her eyes turn big and her stomach turns in surprise.

“I know this isn’t exactly the perfect time to say it, but I do.”

“I love you too,” she replies, almost too fast for Boyd to make out seperate words. She presses her lips against his again, and this time she’s smiling.

The voice-over urges to board the flight again and Boyd exhales deeply.

“I  _really_  have to go.”

I know, I know. Call me, okay? Immediately.”

“I will,” he snickers. They share one last kiss, he wipes a strand of hair out of her face one last time and then he walks way. Right before he disappears behind a corner, he turns around and waves.

Kira is able to hold back the tears until he’s completely gone, and then she starts crying.

**Author's Note:**

> I love this pairing and setting so much so I'm thinking about writing a second chapter? What do you think?


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